The Sprint Zagato is the ultimate sporting development of Alfa Romeo’s legendary Giulietta. Featuring lightweight bodywork (the car weighs just 770kg) by Zagato and specially tuned engines, the cars were very successful and surprisingly fast, topping 120mph on under 1.3 liters. Lighter than any other variant of the Giulietta, the SZ also had more power thanks to its high compression engine, tighter tolerances, more aggressive cams, and careful tuning. The cars were quite expensive owing to the 300 hours necessary to build the bodies by Zagato, this after receiving the chassis from Alfa Romeo. A few more than 200 examples were built, and they became the choice weapon in the small bore production class, dominating the Targa Florio with first, second, and third in class in 1964, and second, third, fourth, and sixth in class in 1965.

Today, Sprint Zagatos are welcome entries to virtually all of the premier historic rally and race events around the globe. These events included the Retro Targa Florio, Tour Auto, Lemans Classic, Monterey Historics, and California Mille, among others. Increasingly, the Alfa Romeo SZ is regarded as one of the all time great vintage cars for Italian and competition enthusiasts.

This particular car has been carefully maintained by its recent owners, following a 1994 restoration in Italy by specialist Mario Galbiati. Galbiati’s shop is a highly regarded shop for Zagato work, so much so that they are the restoration shop of choice for Zagato themselves, and were even employed to build the Sanction II Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagatos during the late 1980’s. Between approximately 1963 and 2000, the car remained under the care of the same female owner. During time, the engine was replaced with a period correct unit, and the car was cosmetically and mechanically restored in a comprehensive fashion. The engine is reported to displace 1500cc's. The car has been carefully inspected by Italian car expert John de Boer, and he located several Zagato number stampings throughout the car. These numbers, combined with several other characteristics he observed of the car confirm his belief that this is indeed a genuine Sprint Zagato. The current owner has had the engine and brakes rebuilt by Conrad Stevenson.

The car remains in excellent cosmetic condition, with very nice paint over straight and solid body panels. There are few blemishes or signs of aging, with only two flaws worth noting: an area of superficial bubbling smaller than a pencil eraser on the hood, and a small dimple in the driver’s door. Otherwise, the body is extremely nice, and looks particularly striking in silver, a welcome change from the more often seen red and white. The trim, badging, and hubcaps are in very nice order, as is the glass, though there is a small area of delamination along the right edge of the windscreen. The headlamps are Carello items, though the right one is cracked. The remaining lights are in excellent shape.

The interior is in excellent shape as well, with quality work well in evidence. The car is equipped with the striking and correct Zagato ‘flying buttress’ seats, which are in excellent shape, as is the remaining upholstery in the interior. The floor mats, headliner, and door panels are also in extremely nice shape, as are the instruments, switches, and the steering wheel. There is a small crack in the horn button, but the interior is otherwise difficult to fault.

The trunk and engine compartment are also very nice, having been included in the restoration. The trunk is clean and solid, and the engine is impressively detailed with a lovely crispness to the hardware, firewall, and inner fenders. The engine is also quite correct in equipment, including the correct type hose clamps, yellow fuel lines, cast intake plenum, and correct air filter and intake trunking.

This is an outstanding opportunity to acquire a lovely example of this rare car. Certainly one of the ultimate Giuliettas, this example is unusually complete in terms of trim and equipment, and in unusually fine condition since these cars are often used extensively in competition. The car comes with a tool roll with tools, and is eligible for a wide variety of prestigious events worldwide.